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{
    "id": 1567805,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1567805/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 287,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "It does not make sense to many of the players in that industry. I have taken time to watch and listen to them. They tell me that Kenyans speak better English than the Indians and Filipinos who are the dominant players in that space. However, because of our laws, lack of motivation or creating an environment that motivates the multinationals that have the contracts of the companies that need these services, there is nothing that attracts them. Business is about attraction. If someone finds out that there is a country where they can make good returns, they will come and invest here. Therefore, this is part of the reaction to what is being mentioned in many spaces on the need to respond to the needs of the private sector to make our country competitive, grow industries, create jobs for our young people and earn a good return for the Republic of Kenya. In a nutshell, that is what this Bill is about. This Bill has various proposals. As I mentioned, it amends various existing statutes such as the Investment Promotion Act, which was passed a long time ago. It is actually Cap.485, Laws of Kenya, which means that it was amended pre-this Constitution. The Employment Act, Cap.226, Occupation and Safety Health Act, Cap.236, the Affordable Housing Act which is a 2024 law, the Land Act, Cap.280 and the Anti-Counterfeit Act, Cap. 510. These are pre-2010 statutes and many of them need to be conformed to the demands of the 21st Century. There are various amendments being proposed. I ask Members to take time, read and understand what is being done to modernize the country's business environment. We have to make sure that the regulations for FDI, Business Process Outsourcing and information technology service providers will help them attract reputable investors to promote innovation and enhance the country's competitiveness in the global market. We are not proposing rocket science. We are simply asking ourselves what the Philippines have done to make their BPO industry employ perhaps 10 to 15 million people while ours is a paltry 50,000, or 100,000 maximum. We are asking why India is able to employ three to four million people. We are not walking a path that others have not walked. We are simply ensuring that we conform to the demands of the market. We are listening to the market and we want to make our country as competitive as the rest. I will next talk of investment promotion. Last year or the year before, the Permanent Secretary in charge of immigration services published a list of new charges for foreigners working in this country. There are certain industries where we must agree and accept that we do not have the requisite skills available locally. So, a multinational investor or even a local investor can make demands that they need people of a certain skill, but the charge that passed to them is not something that they can pay. I have shared this information with the people at the Immigration Service and many others. I have told them that they could perhaps be making a similar amount to what used to be made in the past, but the compliance level is at an all-time low. If the amount for a particular class of permit was previously was Kshs50,000 and it has been grown to Kshs1 million, then the easier thing to do is to let the people work. When the immigration officers come to check, you find something out of your pocket, pay them and they will walk away. This is Kenya, anyway. Instead of making such policies, why can we not respond to the demands of the market and ensure that we come up with The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}